WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers extended their probe into location tracking on mobile devices this week, asking Apple Inc and other developers to divulge how they use location data and scheduling a separate hearing on mobile privacy.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to top mobile device operating system developers on Monday seeking information on the location data used by their smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers extended their probe into location tracking on mobile devices this week, asking Apple Inc and other developers to divulge how they use location data and scheduling a separate hearing on mobile privacy.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to top mobile device operating system developers on Monday seeking information on the location data used by their smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices.

In a filing seeking the Federal Communications Commission’s
approval of the deal, AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile carrier,
argued that the merger would spur innovation and economic
growth by allowing it to improve the quality of its services.

In a filing seeking the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the deal, AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile carrier, argued that the merger would spur innovation and economic growth by allowing it to improve the quality of its services.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said changes in the marketplace will not change the underlying problem that spectrum demand is quickly outstripping supply. The chairman also criticized remarks that the spectrum crisis was more of a marketing spin than a nationwide problem.

LAS VEGAS, April 12 (Reuters) – Some U.S. airwaves used for
free, over-the-air TV signals must be repurposed for mobile
broadband use to tackle a looming spectrum crisis, the top U.S.
communications regulator said on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission wants Congress to
grant it authority to hold incentive auctions that would
compensate television broadcasters for giving up some of their
spectrum to wireless companies.

BOSTON, April 9 (Reuters) – Public interest groups are
keeping the option of lawsuits against the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission on the table to fight for stronger
Internet “neutrality” rules, an executive at a public interest
law firm said on Saturday.

So-called net neutrality rules adopted by the FCC in
December would prevent network operators from blocking lawful
content but still let them ration access to their networks.

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Thursday
adopted data roaming rules that would allow smartphones to
access the Internet in areas across the country not covered by
their wireless carrier.

The rules set by the Federal Communications Commission in a
3-2 vote would force wireless carriers like AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
Verizon Wireless to offer “reasonable” roaming rates.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted on Monday the Federal Communications Commission’s motions to dismiss as premature lawsuits filed by Verizon Communications Inc and MetroPCS Communications Inc.

About Jasmin

"After graduating from Howard University, Jasmin joined Reuters as an intern in the summer of 2008. She was hired after that summer as a news assistant in the Washington, DC bureau, covering energy, agriculture, commodities and economic indicators. She now reports on the FCC, telecom issues, the technology industry's influence in Washington and other policy stories. Follow her on Twitter @jasminmelvin"